Daniel D. Veniez

Entrepreneur and Corporate Director; Liberal Party of Canada Candidate in the 2011 General Election

Dan is president of DDV Enterprises Ltd., an investment and management services company and is a corporate director. He was the Liberal Party of Canada's candidate for the the House of Commons for the constituency of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country in the 2011 federal election.

Throughout his varied career, Dan has been an owner, chief executive, senior executive of a large publicly traded company, a partner in a major strategy consultancy, an operating advisor to a major private equity fund, chairman of a federal Crown Corporation, and policy advisor to senior cabinet ministers in the Government of Canada.

Dan has authored numerous articles on business, public policy, and politics for The Globe and Mail, National Post, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, Policy Options Magazine, The Mark, Vancouver Observer, among others.

Stephen Harper stood in the House of Commons today and said emphatically that the Conservative party was not behind the robocalls. Well, if not them, then who did? If the Conservatives are so adamant that they have done nothing wrong, Harper should be the first on his feet to call a full judicial inquiry into allegations of electoral fraud.

Some are calling the meeting this week in Ottawa between the Harper Government and the Assembly of First Nations, "historic." In a way, I am sure it is. After six full years in power this is the very first time Harper and his ministers have taken the time to meet the chiefs.

As a candidate, there was nothing that perplexed and infuriated me more than Liberals asking me: "Dan, what do we stand for?" Why in the world, I thought, would anyone join a political party if they had absolutely no clue what their membership even represents?

In our short history, Canada has become a globally respected voice and example in the world for peaceful change, tolerance, compromise, democracy, active multilateral engagement, and social justice. It therefore matters to me that our head of state is not--and can never be--a citizen of Canada.

Harper writes a blank cheque and tells the provinces that health care is their problem, not ours, collectively, as a nation. He signaled that his government has no interest in building a comprehensive national health policy for Canada that addresses our national health and innovation goals. He knows that only a prime minister can lead that charge. He has chosen not to.

The Gitxsan Nation want to be Canadians with no special status and enjoying all the rights that the rest of us take for granted; they do not want to be handcuffed under the arcane auspices of the Indian Act; and they want to be able to unlock their economies by developing their lands and resources under the laws of Canada.

The Indian Act -- an arcane law of our Parliament as old as Canada itself that institutionalizes apartheid on our soil -- makes it impossible for Ottawa's paternalistic iron grip of dependency to be loosened. Making action more difficult are the few Aboriginal "leaders" that make a very healthy living off the status quo and don't want to change it.

The techniques that Stephen Harper has used to obliterate his opponents resemble the dumbing down, divisive and winner-take-all gladiator political culture of the U.S. That is largely our own fault. We have short attention spans and want quick fixes.